Media representation essay

 

To what extent do the media represent people fully? 

the media represents people nowadays through stereotyping different groups whether it be associated with age, ethnicity, race, social status, gender or religion. Media representations are established, stereotypical representations of social groups across various media platforms.

An example of how people are represented by media, particularly the news, is the Global portrayal of the royal family. The media represents the king as the leader of their country which helps strengthen the national identity as the royals participate in national events such as sports and conferences. 

Age in particular is one way people are represented by the media such creating certain characterisations of children, youth and the elderly which as a whole influences societies behaviour towards them. Children for example are often shown as innocent, vulnerable and often very carefree however can also be painted in a negative light due to misbehaviour or even showing them as helpless. An example of this is how children’s are often used in advertising as they can appeal to a wider consumers. Advertisers will often use children to create an emotional connection with their target audience as well as to convey a sense of innocence and purity.  

The media often perpetuates stereotypes by portraying groups of people in a simplistic and one-dimensional way.These stereotypes can be harmful and contribute to prejudice and discrimination leading to audience outrage such as the Black Lives Matter a gender which has led to big corporations such as Disney (revenue of 99.45 billion) to enrols more black actors as main roles. It's important for the media to challenge these stereotypes by portraying diverse and complex representations of different groups of people in order to present a wide variety of the population. Stereotypes can also be used to target certain age demographics such as gen z which have been shown by studies to use social media for at least 4 hours on a daily basis leading companies to target them through methods such as TikTok ads.

Hegemony is a concept that refers to the way in which dominant groups in society use their power to maintain control over others. In the context of media representation, hegemony can be used to reinforce existing power structures and social norms. For example, media representations of women as passive and submissive can reinforce traditional gender roles and maintain the power of men in society. Similarly, media representations of people of color as violent or criminal can reinforce negative stereotypes and maintain the power of white people in society. By challenging these dominant representations, as influencers these days often do and creating more diverse and complex portrayals of different groups of people, the media can help to disrupt hegemonic power structures and promote social equality for the population.